The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-08-26
CHE emOrrat-S Star


The youug editor OF the Bates
vile PaRelian, who isa geBTIeman
Of high honor, and is very friendly
to the O.. & 8. l. r. r., tells Of
fearful treatment Of the convicts
on the North end Of that road.
Hitherto We have been bearing
from the South end and the
thought that the chief cruelty in
the treatment OF the ~couvicts was
there. Mr. LOwery says:
"There r three charges made
BY the Board. which Capt. Hardy
denies. That these charges might
have been made against the north.
eru camps, and sustain cur person
al ~0bsarvatioG has proven. Last
sumner oar residences was about
three hundred yards from a camp
on the mort heru end OF the road,
and We were frequently about the
camp and Oh the works; aud feel
that We would tail in OR dury as a
journalist il We withheld our OBJ
servatIOn from the public at this
critical time.
The charge that : Sufficient hos
pital Recommendations are not farn.
ished, aud that the sick are other.
wise lily cared for is denied.
We visited Two camps on the
noFtheTueud OF the road and there
were 10 hospital accommodations at
either, aud We were told that there
were none at the others. AS stated
in our last Issue the stOckade at the
hrst camp We visited was 30 X 20
feet. 1t was built OF logs set on
ends which were buried some inches
in the ground. 1t was poorly ven.
tilated and the stencil was very of.
fensive even to those who frequent.
ed the camp. Within this misera.
BILE place the sick were crowded
with the noisy herd. On midsum.
mer Sunday evenings the writer
has the painful expression on the
deathly sick face OF the poor con.
vict as he lay in this hot, restless.
noisy crowd, with nothing but LIS
blanket between his fever1sh body
and the rough hard boards OF
which his miserable bunk was
made.
To a well man outside the stock
ade, the heat Was almost anbeara
ble, but how much worse it must
have been to q sick man In a crowd
where what little breeze there
might be stirring could not reach
him. Moreover, the convicts oc-
casioually begged or bought fresh
meats, &c. aud OH these hot even
the heat inside the stockade
often Increased by "A fire hot
enough to cook such things, as any
of them had succeeded in getting.
Let no MississiPpidu condemn tue
BLACK Hole OF Calcutta until better
quarters are furnished our own
prisoners.
Around the sick men the crowd
kept an Hnceasing and horrible
noise. Some sang, some wrestled,
some played cards, while loud talk
aud b%OisterOus laughter continued
from morning till night. Tue sick
seemed to get no pity either from
their companions or the guards.
once heard an appeal from a
sick man to the guard answered [
81 Cd d. you, it yon don't '
re down and shut up I'll put a load
buck shot in yOu.' these may 4
lot be his exact words but they are
he exact sense.)
One man was shot through with
our buckshOt by a guard aud lay !
nth his bleeding wounds undress- r
d until the citizens heard it, went :
q the camp and attended to his :
ecessities. The camp physician I
aw him Immediately after he was ,
ho;, but instead of dressing his =
rounds, left orders for wet cloths
0 be put on them when a certain
came. 1t was not certain
hat said party would be there for al
ours. the citizens furnished a te
iattress and the wounded man was ~
to lie outside the siOckade til
ut received such poor attention, re
lat the citizens slgued a paper of ".
for him and took him to a M
Ouse, where he died. When first
lot, even the physician did not of
ronounce bis wounds necessarily su
sn gerOus. He lived nearly two an
eeks aud all thought that with
'Oper attention his recovery th
Ould have been sure. Upon whose iai
is his blood, those OF the =
lards, who shot him or those of
e responsible parties through
bose neglect he died We do
It charge the company with will
g that these things should he or
Ith a knowledge OF them ; but We
charge them all to the leasing
stem and that is what we are
Surely the treatment
at some of our cOnvicts have re-
lived under the lrssiug system
Ould be unworthy Of the most
wage tribe OF dark aud barbarOus
triea.
The charge that cleanliness does !
It receive the proper care is also
MED. y
the eOnvicts that we're camped =
ar us were permitted to battle ~
bodies during the whole two an
Ontbs that they were there, we
Iew nothing of il; and as We
Oke to some who were connected
th the camp of their nos having \
a II and rnonirnI m nrf.Innnn L.